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Veteran Aerospace Leader Vander Weg Joins SpaceX as Vice President
of the EELV Customer Office
Hawthorne, CA – August 5, 2009 – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announces the addition of Marv Vander Weg in the role of Vice President of the EELV Customer Office, where he will be responsible for acquiring and managing EELV missions for SpaceX's U.S. Government customers. He will be located at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Vander Weg joins SpaceX from United Launch Alliance (ULA) where he was the Vice President for the Customer Program Office. In that role, Vander Weg was responsible for developing customer interfaces and enhancing customer satisfaction during the acquisition and execution of the contractual obligations for the Atlas and Delta launch vehicle programs.
Prior to his time at ULA, Vander Weg served as the Director of the Atlas Government Program Office for Lockheed Martin's (LM) Atlas Program. Through this role, and various other assignments in acquisition and program management at LM, he gained extensive experience with the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the NRO's Office of Space Launch, and the NASA-Kennedy launch programs.
“Marv Vander Weg brings unique experience in managing the most complex US Government missions to the SpaceX team,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. “That experience is critical in order to address the full range of Air Force, NASA and NRO launch needs, up to and including the world's largest satellites. Marv joining SpaceX is an endorsement of that vision.”
Falcon 9's first stage and interstage also passed ground wind qualification tests, critical for when the vehicle is vertical on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Both components were designed, built and tested by SpaceX.
For more information about the Falcon family of vehicles, and to watch a video tour of SpaceX's Texas Test Site, please visit www.spacex.com.
About SpaceX
SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. With the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 vehicles, SpaceX offers highly reliable/cost-efficient launch capabilities for spacecraft insertion into any orbital altitude and inclination. Starting in 2010, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will provide Earth-to-LEO transport of pressurized and unpressurized cargo, including resupply to the International Space Station (ISS).
Founded in 2002, SpaceX is a private company owned by management and employees, with minority investments from Founders Fund and DFJ. The SpaceX team now numbers over 800, with corporate headquarters in Hawthorne, California. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.spacex.com.
Marv Vander Weg named SpaceX Vice President for the Customer Program Office